City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: 11/22/2010 Item Number: J-1
JOINT CITY COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD AGENDA ITEM:
Approval of a Professional Services Agreement with DLR Group/WWCOT for the
Architectural Design of Veteran’s Memorial Building Renovation Project, P-876.
Contact Person/Dept.: Elaine Jeng/PW Phone Number: 310-253-5621
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [X] No []
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: []
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agenda – City Council (11/17/2010); Meetings
and Agendas – Redevelopment Agency (11/17/10); (E-Mail) AGC Design, WOLCOTT,
WLC Architects, DLR Group/WWCOT (11/08/2010)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (11/11/10)
Sol Blumenfeld (11/11/10)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (11/16/10)
Agency General Counsel Approval:
Murray Kane (by H. Baker) (11/16/10)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by K. Marsden) (11/16/10)
City Manager/Executive Director Approval:
John M. Nachbar (11/17/10)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the City Council and Redevelopment Agency Board (Agency
Board) approve a professional services agreement with DLR Group/WWCOT, in the
amount of $48,400, for the design of the Veteran’s Memorial Building Renovation
Project, P-876.
BACKGROUND:
Built in the 1940’s, the Veteran’s Memorial Building is aging and requires repairs and
updates to make the facility a more marketable rental space. The Redevelopment
Agency is contributing $200,000 to renovate and upgrade several restrooms in the
facility to current building code requirements. In July 2010, the City Council
approved an additional $250,000 from the City’s General Fund reserves to address
other necessary repairs and upgrades to the facility.
Public Works Department and Parks, Recreation, and Community Services (PRCS)
Department staff met in September 2010 and developed a comprehensive list of
repairs and renovations. Subsequently, this list was provided to four architectural
firms in October 2010 to solicit a cost proposal to prepare plans and specifications
for construction bidding purposes. The four firms contacted were DLR
Group/WWCOT, WLC Architects, WOLCOTT, and AGC Design Concept Inc. DLR
Group/WWCOT was the designer for the recently completed Firing Range. WLC
Architects, Inc. was the designer for the recently completed Fire Station 3.
WOLCOTT was the designer for the renovation of the Teen Center. AGC Design
Concept Inc. was referred by City staff. City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
DISCUSSION:
A site walk was conducted with each of the four proposers to elaborate on the
proposed work. Recognizing that there is a limited budget, priorities on the list were
established with the proposers during the site walk. It was also emphasized to each
firm that the subject work will require iterative design and cost estimates to best
utilize the available budget. It was explicitly noted that their cost proposal should
reflect this expectation.
Although Culver City Municipal Code (CCMC) Section 3.07.085.A exempts
professional services from the formal competitive bidding requirement, staff
determined to issue a Request for Proposals in this instance. On October 14, 2010,
proposals were received from AGC Design, WLC Architects, WOLCTT Architects,
and DLR Group/WWCOT. The proposers were required to provide a cost for the
scope of work outlined above. The following table summarizes the costs of the
proposals received:
Proposals from
Restroom
Renovation
All Other
Renovations Total Fees
1 DLR Group WWCOT $15,000.00 $33,400.00 $48,400.00
2 WLC Architects, Inc. $22,000.00 $27,000.00 $49,000.00
3 AGC Design Concept Inc. $24,450.00 $8,150.00 $32,600.00
4 WOLCOTT* $9,000.00 $4,250.00 $13,250.00
*Excludes Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Design
WOLCOTT recommended in their proposal to have the City contract directly with
mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) sub-consultants and that WOLCOTT, as
covered in their proposed fees, would coordinate design effort with these entities.
Staff does not recommend this arrangement as there could be miscommunication
amongst the consultants complicating and possibly prolonging the design process.
Based on the scope of work, staff recommends that there be one lead architect.
AGC Design Concept Inc. placed more emphasis on the restroom renovations as
shown in the table. This assessment is inconsistent with staff’s evaluation.
Restroom renovation design is straight forward in that any remaining monies not
utilized would be directed to the remaining facilities where the other areas requiring
renovations offer a variety of options needing iterative design efforts to achieve the
best value.
WLC Architects, Inc.’s and DLR Group/WWCOT proposals met staff’s expectations
and goals for the project. Both firms presented good understandings of the project
relative to staff’s assessment of the effort required. DLR Group/WWCOT presented
the best comprehension by proposing to approach the ‘All other Renovations’ scope
in two phases. The first phase would be to define the renovation components and
establish a rough order of magnitude cost so that the City can identify and select City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
components. The second phase would be the preparation of construction
documents prepared only for the selected components.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
There are $250,000 of general funds available for the Veteran’s Memorial Building
Renovation Project as approved by the City Council on July 26, 2010. Also, there
are $42,038 of Park Facility funds available in the Capital Improvement budget for
Fiscal Year 2010/2011.
The Redevelopment Agency has an approved budget of $200,000 for Fiscal Year
2010/2011 for Veteran’s Memorial Building restroom renovations.
The total available budget for design and construction of the project is $492,038.
Project Budget
Funding Source Amount
General Fund Capital Improv (42000876) $250,000
Park Facility Funds (41900876) $42,038
Redevelopment Agency (57399997) $200,000
Total $492,038
MOTIONS:
That the City Council and Agency Board:
1) Approve a professional services agreement with DLR Group/WWOCT for a not-
to-exceed contract amount of $48,400 (with $15,000 from the Redevelopment
Agency’s Tax Increment Fund and $33,400 from the City’s General Fund and/or
the Park Facility Fund); and,
2) Authorize the Public Works Director/City Engineer to approve change orders
totaling a not-to-exceed amount of $8,180 ($1,500 from Agency funds and
$6,680 from the City’ General Fund), if necessary; and,
3) Authorize the City Attorney/Agency General Counsel to review/prepare the
necessary documents; and,
4) Authorize the City Manager/Executive Director to execute such documents on
behalf of the City and Agency.